A new bus service in the city of Fresno will help riders reach their destinations faster.

The 20 brand-new, blue-striped Fresno-Area Express buses are a part of the new FAX-15 service.

The new buses will travel up and down Shaw and Cedar Avenues with pick-ups and drop-offs every 15 minutes instead of every 30 minutes.

"As we looked at our service, we looked at how many people we were actually leaving on Shaw and on Cedar," Fresno Transportation Director Brian Marshall explained. "There was a need for us to insert another bus. It was common sense."

Marshall says those two routes have a high demand for riders. And those two routes met right in front of the Fresno State campus in northeast Fresno.

University president Dr. Joseph Castro says nearly 25,000 students are on campus every day. He believes the new service will help ease congestion and free up parking at Fresno State.

"Our students, our faculty and our staff will be able to utilize an even better transportation option to get them to get their classes on time and ready to learn and to teach," he said.

FAX-15 will also help riders catching a bus transfer on Blackstone Avenue every 10 minutes. The new bus rapid-transit project is moving forward with several bus stops under construction.

Marshall says improvement will also be made on the FAX-15 routes.

"We will do premium shelters," Marshall said. "These tin can kind of shelters that we have right now will go away on Cedar and on Shaw. They will be replaced with some really high-quality glass shelters."

Construction will soon being and will be complete by August.

The new buses for FAX-15 were purchased by several grants. Each new bus can accommodate over 50 passengers at a time. When compared to other buses in town each one stands out.

"The big difference is that the windows aren't framed windows," Marshall said. "The frames are covered, inside, has a wheelchair secured system that's electric and that's completely automated.">

FAX-15 service will operate every 15 minutes Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.